New Zealand. Retirement Commissioner backtracks on call to raise pension age because Kiwis can’t afford it
New Zealanders are approaching retirement in poorer shape than their parents’ generation did – and that means we cannot afford to raise the pension age, the Retirement Commissioner says.
The commission has long argued that an increase in the age of eligibility for superannuation is needed because of the cost of providing it to an increasing number of older people.
But now acting commissioner Peter Cordtz has issued recommendations that backtrack on that. In the commission’s latest three-yearly Review of Retirement Income Policies, Cordtz said new Treasury projections showed that NZ Super in its current form was sustainable for at least the next 30 years – and raising the age could do more harm than good.
The commission was tasked with looking at wellbeing concerns as well as fiscal sustainability. “While fiscal sustainability long-term is always an issue to be considered we were also asked to consider the effect of policies on reducing vulnerability and on equity,” he said.
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